Three delivery folder



July 21, 1970 R. WOESSNER THREE DELIVERY FOLDER Filed Sept. 26, 1968 INVENTOR. [90/4/90 #0551905? ATTORNEY) United States Patent O 3,521,512 THREE DELIVERY FOLDER Richard Woessner, Fairlawn, N..I., assignor, by mesne assignments, to James Talcott Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 762,897 Int. Cl. B65h 29/06 U.S. Cl. 83-107 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A former folder for rotary printing machines, preferably for the mazagine-type machines, with cut-off devices for three signatures placed around the plate cylinders of the printing machine, with three signature deliveries for separately collecting and delivering of each one of the three signatures and with facilities for silencing two of the three deliveries and of delivering three collected signatures altogether by the third delivery.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Former folders for magazine-type printing machines are known, in which the printed webs carrying page-size signatures, are folded by a former, and in which the signatures then are cut off and delivered, either collect or noncollected, on several deliveries. Folders of this kind are known to have three deliveries, one of which can be silenced while the two other deliveries are alternately receiving collected signatures, as it has been disclosed for example, in the US. Pat. 3,242,781. Printing machines of the kind described above have plate cylinders for receiving three page-size plates on the circumference thereof, and their former folders have to be adapted to cutoff the corresponding printed signatures and to deliver them separately on the individual deliveries, whereby collecting cylinders are arranged for collecting the equal signatures, in case of multiple production, before delivering the same. This mode of operation is necessary because of the increased speed of these machines, which precludes a one-by-one delivery of single signatures.

It is, however, sometimes desirable in the printing industry to have the facilities in the folders for the production of signatures in single production wherein all signatures which are printed by one revolution of the plate cylinders, are gathered, or collected, for forming mixed page signatures, which are then delivered on one of the three deliveries while the two other deliveries are rendered inoperative. This problem is solved by this invention.

SUMMARY The invention consists in such novel features, construction arrangements, combinations of parts and improvements as may be shown and described in connection with the apparatus herein disclosed by way of example only and as illustrative of a preferred embodiment. The basic concept of the invention is to render former folders of the type described more versatile for special purposes, such as for example, testing of advertising arrangements and. the like.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereafter and in part will be obvious herefrom or may be learned by practicing the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

It is an object of this invention to provde a new type of former folder which has three sets of signature collecting and delivering devices.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide signature collecting cylinders in a former folder of 'ice the kind described, each one of which is arranged for collecting three identical signatures prior to delivering of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a former folder with three deliveries, having facilities for rendering two deliveries non-working, and for collecting all signatures in the form of books consisting of three different signatures each on the third collecting cylinder prior to delivering of the books by the third delivery.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a former folder for high-speed production, which has only uncomplicated and easily shiftable operating mechanisms.

Another object of the invention is to provide a former folder for magazine-type printing machines, which has an improved versatility of operations.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description given below taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of the specification and illustrates merely by way of example one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, but such names are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the drawing, which shows in a schematic elevational view a preferred embodiment by which the invention may be realized.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in more detail to the drawing, there is in the former folder shown in the drawing a folding former 11 over which the printed paper web W is longitudinally folded in the conventional continuous manner. The folded web is pulled by so-called nipping rollers 12, 12' and is guided over an idler roller 13 to the cutting cylinders 14 and 15. Cutting cylinder 14, called also knife cylinder," has three cutting knives 16 spaced apart at equal distances on the circumference thereof. Cutting cylinder 15 is large enough to have nine inserts 17 spaced apart at equal distances on the circumference thereof. Cutting grooves 1 8 which cooperate with knives 16, are arranged in inserts 17; pins 19 are also arranged in inserts 17 for picking up the signatures S, which are cut off of web W, and for transporting them. Pins 19 are held in pin levers 20 which are operated by conventional cam follower rollers (not shown in the drawing) in conjunction with a cam (not shown in the drawing). The spacing of knives 16 and cutting grooves 18 on the circumference of cutting cylinders 14 and 15 corresponds to the length of the printed signatures S, which is equal to the length of one page of the product.

Three collecting cylinders 30, 40 and 50 are located around cutting cylinder 15 for operating therewith. Cylinders 30 and 40 have the same diameter and carry two sets of axially arranged inserts 31, 41, each spaced diametrically apart in their respective cylinders. Each one of inserts 31, 41 has located therein a number of pin levers 32, 42 spaced apart at suitable distances distributed over the length of cylinders 30, 40. Pin levers 32, 42 are operated by cam follower rollers actuated by a cam (rollers and cam not shown in the drawing) and carry pins 33, 34 which are operated for accepting the signatures S carried by pins 19 of cylinder 15. The cam mechanisms of cylinders 30, 40 are arranged for operating pins 33, 43, in such a manner that three equal signatures S transferred from cutting cylinder 15 are collected by pins 33, 43, prior to transferring them to the corresponding slow-down delivery cylinders 34, 44 which have two gripper systems 35, 45 for transporting. of ,the. collected signatures and of laying them down on delivery belts 36, 46.

Collecting cylinder 50 has a larger diameter than cylinders 30 and 40 and has eight sets of axially arranged'inserts 51 spaced apart at equal distances on the circumference thereof. Inserts 51 are substantially of the same design as inserts 31,41 and have pin levers "52 with pins 53 similar to pin levers 32, 42 and to pins 33, 43 for carrying the signatures S and for collecting three signatures in the same manner as outlined above for collecting and transferring cylinders 30, 40. When three signatures are collected on pins 53, they are transferred to the pins 56 of the inserts 55 of the transfer cylinder 57. From pins 56 of cylinder 57 the signatures are transferred to the grippers 58 of the slow-down delivery cylinder 54. Grippers 58 delivery eventually the signatures to the delivery belts 59. Y When all signatures which are printed by one revolution of the plate cylinders of the printing machine, should be collected for forming single books consisting of the number of pages corresponding to the number of the pagesize printing plates on the plate cylinders of the printing machine, the collecting cylinders 30, 40 and the corresponding delivery cylinders 3-4, 44 will be declutched and silenced. Two of the three cam sections of the cam of cylinder for operating the pins for releasing the signatures to collecting cylinders 30, 40 are exchanged so that the signatures are no longer transferred to pins of pin levers 32, 42 of these cylinders, and two further cam sections of the same cam are exchanged for releasing all signatures to pins 53 of cylinder 50. Two cam segments of the cam cylinder 50 have also to be exchanged in order to accept all the signatures which are released from the pin systems of cylinder 15. Two ca m followers of the three followers for actuating of the pin mechanisms for pins 56 of cylinder 57 has to be replaced for transferring properly the collected signatures to grippers 58 of slow-down delivery cylinder 54. By this operation the folder is set to deliver all signatures collected in various sequences, by one delivery while the two other deliveries are silenced.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a certain preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principle of the invention, that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

Iclaim: 1. The former-folder of magazine-type rotary printing machines with three signature deliverydevices; said folder comprising a first cutting cylinder having three equidistantly spaced cutting knives on the circumference thereof, a second cutting cylinder cooperating with said first cutting cylinder, said second cutting cylinder having nine cutting grooves on the circumference thereof, said grooves spaced apart at the same distances as said cutting knives,

nine signature carrying 'devices on said second cutting cylinder, three signature collecting cylinders cooperating with said second cutting cylinder, said collecting cylinders having signature receiving and signature collecting pins thereon, and three slow-down delivery cylinders having grippers taking said signatures from said collecting pins and delivering same to said delivery devices.

2. The former-folder for magazine-type rotary printing machines according to claim 1, one of said three signature collecting cylinders having eight signature carrying de' vices, a transfer cylinder having three signature carrying devices thereon, said transfer cylinder cooperating with said collecting cylinder and transferring said collected signatures to said grippers of the corresponding slow-down delivery cylinder.

3. The former-folder for magazine-type rotary printing machines according to claim 2, each one of the other two of said three signature collecting cylinders having two signature carrying devices thereon.

4. A former-folder for magazine typ'e rotaryprinting machines according to claim 3, said other two of said three signature collecting cylinders having declutching means for silencing of same, and said one of said three signature collecting cylinders having exchangeable cam means for operating said eight signature carrying means to collect in various sequences all signatures cut off by said cutting cylinders and transferring and delivering said collected signatures.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS JAMES M; MEISTER, Primary Examiner U.S. o1. X.R. 

